Breakthrough discovery in light interactions with nanoparticles paves the way for advances in optical computing

The need for computers that can work faster, solve complex problems more efficiently, and leave smaller environmental footprints is growing more urgent as computers are an indispensable part of our daily lives. It is possible to achieve more efficient computing through optical devices that use interactions between metamaterials and light waves to apply mathematical operations of interest on the input signals, and even solve complex mathematical problems. Because of their size, such computers are difficult to scale into more complex networks, which is due to the large footprint and precise fabrication of the components.

A paper from the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center details a breakthrough discovery in the field of light wave interactions that could lead to the development of small, low-energy optical computers capable of advanced computing.

The increasing energy demands of large data centers and inefficiencies in current computing architectures have become a real challenge for our society.

CUNY ASRC researchers designed a small object made of Silicon that can be used to decode a mathematical problem when it is bombarded with light waves. The solution is calculated with minimal energy consumption.

This finding is promising because it offers a practical pathway for creating a new generation of very energy efficient, ultrafast, ultracompact nanoscale optical computers and other nanophotonic technologies that can be used for classical and quantum computations.

More information: Heedong Goh et al, Nonlocal Scatterer for Compact Wave-Based Analog Computing, Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.073201 Journal information: Physical Review Letters Citation: Breakthrough discovery in light interactions with nanoparticles paves the way for advances in optical computing (2022, February 25) retrieved 25 February 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-02-breakthrough-discovery-interactions-nanoparticles-paves.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.